Families and Households - Types of Families
Families
A group of people related by kinship ties - relations of blood, marriage, civil partnership or adoption
Patriarchal Family
A male headed, male dominated family
Symmetrical Family
A nuclear family with joint conjugal roles; husband/wife or cohabiting couple share domestic labour, childcare and leisure activities; the relationship is egalitarian (more equal)
Single / Lone Person Household
A person living alone through choice, divorce or bereavement
Beanpole Family
Multi-generational family (3+ generations) but few people in each generation. This is due to: Increased life expectancy and lower birth rate.
Neo-Conventional Family
A contemporary version of the nuclear family, where both parents work and share the domestic work. Parents may be cohabiting or married, and the children are their biological or adopted offspring. Chester believes this is what most families are like.
Reconstituted Family
A family where one or more of the partners brings children from another relationship. Commonly referred to as a step-family
Empty Nest Family
A family where the children have left home and it's just the parent/s at home
Empty Shell Family
A couple living together but not emotionally committed to one another
Nuclear Family
A two generation family with two heterosexual adults and their dependent children, biological or adopted. A traditional (or conventional) example of this family type is one in which the parents are married and the gender roles are segregated. E.g. male breadwinner and female housewife
Cohabiting Couple
Couples who live together but are not married
Household
Either one person living alone or a group of people who live at the same address and share living arrangements - bills, meals, chores etc.
Same Sex Family
Families headed by lesbian or gay couples, with or without children
Single / Lone Parent Family
Families headed by one adult, over 90% of which are headed by women
Living Apart Together (LAT) Family
Families or couples who do not live together but, usually for work reasons, live separately
Matrifocal Family
Female headed families, no adult male. Afro-Caribbean have a high proportion of Matrifocal families (50%)
Extended Families
Two or more generations of family members, with additions beyond the nuclear family.: Horizontal means of the same generation (aunties/uncles/cousins) Vertical means grandparents are included. The classic extended family are kin who live in the same household or in close proximity; the modified extended family are kin who are geographically dispersed, but maintain regular contact via technology.
